Scouring and washing apparatus



(No Model.)

F. E. ANDERSON. SOOURING AND WASHING APPARATUS.

30,817. Patented Jung 24, 1890.

I /N VENTOH A TTOHNE YS UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.-

FRANK E. ANDERSON, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

SCOURING AND WASHING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,817, dated June 24,1890.

Application filed February 13, 1890. Serial No. 340,348. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK E. ANDERSON, of East Orange, in the county ofEssex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Securing and W'ashing Apparatus, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to apparatus for scouring, washing, or dyeingvarious fibrous materials. It is more particularly intended, however,for the cleansing and washing of wool, and is more especially designedas an improvement upon the invention patented by Samuel Hodgson,September 3, 1889, No. 410,519, for a scouring and washing machine, inwhich the main objects of the invention were to provide for a uniformsubmersion of all of the wool or other fiber operated upon, and toprovide for a submersion of any length of time. Said machine, whichincluded a process subsequently patented to said Hodgson, January 14:,1890, No. 419,331, operated upon the principle of submerging the stapleand subjecting said staple and its surrounding liquid to forwardintermittent impulses, and in carrying out this process the machinepatented September 3,1889, as above named, consisted, essentially, of anormally-filled tube or conduit and a flushing mechanism arranged inconnection therewith. These and other details included in said machineare used in this my improvement, which, however, has other features inaddition, including a succession or series of fiber-submerging tubes,one following the other, and the one which follows up the work of thepreceding one either having a continuous or intermittent flow of liquidthrough it; but the same will here be described as having continuousflow through it instead of operating by forward impulses; also, pressureor squeeze rolls interposed between the tubes and at the terminus of theseries, whereby the wool or fiber under treatment is more effectuallycleaned, substantially as hereinafter described.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved scouring and washing apparatus.Fig. 2 is flow-chamber b.

a vertical longitudinal section of the same, taken upon the line w :1:in Fig. 1; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are vertical transverse sections, upona larger scale, taken, respectively, upon the lines w w, y 'y, and z zin Fig. 2.

A is the first of a series of tubes or flumes, of which there may be anynumber in succession, one in advance of the other, although only two arehere shown, (marked A B.) At the one end of this tube A is a hopper (3,into which the wool or fiber to be treated is first fed by any suitablemeans, while the other end of said tube is raised, so that the loweredge of the discharge opening a will be above the level of the top ofthe main body of the tube.

On top of the hopper C is a tank D, that supplies by overflow thescouring or washing liquid to the flume A and keeps such fiume, tube, orconduit normally filled with the liquid. Applied to said hopper (J is atilting flushing-bucket E, into which the liquid from the tank D flows.This tilting flushingbucket as it tilts serves to give the necessaryintermittent forward impulses to the wool or fiber and its surroundingliquid in and through the flume or tube A.

At the discharge end CL of the tube A, over or within a drip-pan F,is anendless traveling cloth or other, preferably porous, apron G, whichserves to carry the wet wool or fiber forward to and between a pair ofpressure or staple squeezing-rolls H H in and over the drip-pan F. Theserolls or one of them is made adjustable to give any degree of pressurerequired-as, for instance, by screws applied to the bearings of theupper roll. Beyond these rolls H II is another endless traveling belt orapron G, set inclining upward within a channel-Way I, and serving todeliver the partially-cleansed wool or fiber into a second hopper J,mounted on the one end of the second flume or tube B, the wool beingdelivered above the level of the fall of liquid therein, which issupplied from an over- The liquid squeezed out of the wool or fiber bythe pressure-rolls H H is returned from the drip-pan F back to a tank K,from whence it is returned or supplied by a pump or steam-pulsometer Land suitable connections to the overflow-tank D. The endless travelingaprons GG and the squeeze or pressure rolls H H are positively driven byany suitable arrangement of gearing, an ordinary system for 'the purposebeing shown in Fig. 1. The tube or fiume B also has the lower edge ofits discharge-opening a at the one end of said tube at the level of thetop of the main body of the tube; but the flow of liquid and passage ofthe fiber through this tube, instead of being by intermittent impulsesas well as continuous, as in the tube or fiume A, is continuous only,the liquid being continuously supplied by the overflowchamber 7) withoutthe intervention of a tilting flushing-bucket.

From the tube B the wet wool in being discharged slides down an inclined and pushes any wool or fiber ahead of it up to and between anotherpair of adjustable squeeze or pressure rollers H. H, suitably boxed inat their sides and back to insure the passing water or liquid being runout to said rolls togeth er with the wool or fiber. A rotating fanlikedevice e at the back of these rolls serves to regulate the delivery ofthe wool or fiber.

Beneath the rolls I l II is a drip-pan N, which serves, by a suitablepipe-connection, to pass the liquid flowing out of the tube B andsqueezed from the wool while passing between said rolls back to a tankK, from whence it may be returned by a pulsometer or pump 0 to theoverflow-chamber b. The pressure-rolls, or one of them H H, are alsopositively driven, as likewise the fan-like device e, by any suitablegearing-such, for instance, as shown in Fig. 1.

Of course for cleansing wool the liquid used may be suitably heated, ascustomary in such cases.

By the use of a series of successive flushin g-flumes, the contents ofwhich are subjected to intermittent impulses and a continuous current,and the employment of squeeze or pressure rolls between the fiumes andat the end of the series, where any desired pressure may be given, notonly will the wool, supposing that to be the material being treated, beproperly submerged and soaked and rinsed without jamming or injury toits fibers; but the wool, in passing between the squeeze-rolls, willreceive a greater proportion of cleansing in the squeezing operationthan in the soaking one, the hard pressure of. the rolls forcing theliquid through every part of the wool, besides separating the dirt andgrease, which has been loosened and softened by the soaking operation.

It should be observed that the flushing fiumes or tubes may either besubjected to an intermittent or continuous current through any or all ofthem. Means for doing both are here shown. This remark applies whetherthe apparatus has only one flushing-fiume or a series of flushing fiumesor tubes in succession, so long as squeeze-rolls be combined either withthe one fiume or with the series of fiumes. Again, by the term flushingfiume or tube is meant a tube or fiume the liquid full length of thetube, close the tube diametrically, so as to give the requisiteresistance and friction. This may be done by making the outlet portionof the tube, though not necessarily its extremity, elevated in relationto the body of the tube.

It should here be observed that the flushing fiumes or tubes in whichthe scouring and washing is done essentially diifer from mere uprighttanks or receptacles provided with toothed drums or other specialrotating devices for agitating and working the wool while within saidreceptacles, and with pumps for passing the wool from one receptacle toanother or into a raking device, and further provided with pressurerolls or wringers and endless belt conveyers for conveying the wool orstaple through and delivering it from the apparatus. Each scouring andwashing fiume or tube in my invention is not dependent upon interioroperating devices or pumps for lifting the wool, but it is simply afibersubmerging tube, normally filled with fluid, having its oppositeend portions so arranged that a current by gravitation passes throughthe tube, and the latter is kept filled for a portion at least of itslength with liquid, so as to give the requisite resistance and frictionand to provide fora proper and uniform submersion of all the wool orfiber passing through the tube. WVool or other staple thus scoured orwashed is in a condition to be acted upon more thoroughly and perfectlyby squeeze or pressure rollers without injury to the fiber, and where aseries of such flushing flumes or tubes and a series of suchpressure-rollers outside of the delivery end of each flushing fiume ortube, respectively, are used the efliciency of the apparatus is greatlyenhanced.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. In apparatus for scouring and washing wool or otherfibrous material or staple, the combination, with a flushing fiume ortube that is, a tube normally filled with liquid and having an elevatedoutlet and means for supplying liquid theretoof pressure or staplesqueezing rolls arranged beyond the outlet end of said fiume,essentially as herein set forth.

2. The combination, with a series of flushing fiumes or tubes havingelevated outlets and arranged one in advance of the other, a means fordelivering an intermittent supply of liquid to one of said tubes, and ameans for delivering a continuous supply of liquid to the succeedingtube, of pressure or staple squeezing rolls arranged in relation to thetubes or fiumes, as and for the purpose stated.

3. The combi11ation,with a series of flushing fluines or tubes havingelevated outlets and arranged one in advance of the other, hoppers attheir inlet ends, and means for supplying, respectively, said tubes withliquid, of pressure or staple squeezing rolls arranged between saidtubes and at the end of the series of tubes, conveying devices forconseries of tubes, as and for the purpose stated.

FRANK E. ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

ROBERT MILLs. GEO. A. ADAMS.

